[Selection--a key concept for the structural and functional self-organization of the brain?].

Starting from well-known concepts and theoretical work in biology and economics, the self-organization of the brain is defined as a three-fold selection process with three different time scales. As a morphogenetic and functional principle, selection operates at a phylogenetic, an ontogenetic, and a cognitive level. Especially the hypothesis of a fast cortical selection extends the explanatory power of this central biological concept to conscious higher brain functions.